All About the All About

Gareb Shamus, the company's CEO and Chairman founded WIZARD in January 1991 shortly after he graduated from college. Based in Congers, New York, WIZARD has grown over the past twelve years from one monthly magazine to a multi-title publishing company with diversified interests in branded products and related convention operations. WIZARD currently maintains advertising offices in New York City and Los Angeles.Most of the company's operations are focused on pop culture, specifically targeting young adult males.

WIZARD's first product debuted in July 1991 at the San Diego Comic convention with a limited edition magazine covering the popular culture of comic books.The immediate response was tremendous and Wizard: The Comics Magazine was launched.The publication has grown dramatically since with a current monthly circulation of 200,000. Wizard has won numerous awards including four Folio Gold Awards for Editorial Excellence and has been voted "Magazine of the Year" eleven years in a row by hobby shop retailers. Wizard is currently published in five languages and is sold in over forty countries. It was also named as one of the top 10 magazine launches of the 1990's by Mr. Magazine, Samir Husni, a world-renowned magazine industry analyst.

Following Wizard's success, a second monthly magazine was launched in 1995- InQuest Gamer: The Gaming Magazine.Over the past eight years, InQuest Gamer has proven to be the ultimate source for information about collectible card games, role-playing games, and all fantasy gaming. InQuest Gamer has been first in the United States to report on some of the hottest hits, including Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh.

In July 1997, ToyFare: The Toy Magazine was launched and in its first month became the favorite magazine of toy collectors and enthusiasts by a factor of 10 to 1. Also a Folio Gold Award winner, ToyFare has consistently been the first in showing the world the hottest new toys including Star Wars, Spider-Man and The Simpsons.

Also in 1997, WIZARD purchased the Chicago Comicon to expand from its core publishing business into trade/consumer conventions. In just a few short years, the now renamed Wizard World Chicago event boasts a weekend attendance of over 40,000 people. This year, WIZARD will be the largest producers of consumer events in our industries with three shows taking place in Chicago, Philadelphia and Dallas.

In addition, WIZARD publishes TOY WISHES. In just a few short years TOY WISHES has become THE resource for what toys to buy during the holidays. Every year TOY WISHESappears in over 100 TV interviews and in over 500 newspapers, including "The Today Show", "Good Morning America" and USA Today.

WIZARD recently launched Anime Insider, the best selling U.S. magazine covering the exploding Japanese Animation and Manga market. With the success of Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh, the U.S. has been booming with exciting new properties. Japanese Videos, Comic books, trading card games and video games sales will reach over $2 billion this year.

Each area of expansion has been built on the strategic foundation of tapping into young men's powerful interest in pop culture and providing quality, specialized, insightful and entertaining offerings to WIZARD's large core audience.